District Farm Bill Conservation Technicians

District Farm Bill Conservation Technicians

District Conservation Technician (DCT) Program

Guidelines for 2018Applications

Applications & Required Documents below dueby August25, 2017

  1. Application (including DUNS number with SAM.gov registration)
  2. Budget
  3. FFATA Reporting Form (if not submitted previously)

Be sure to obtain Board approval of application, any District match obligated,

and document this decision in the official Board Meeting minutes.

These Guidelines are primarily for Conservation Districts who have not previously participated in the DCT program, but can also be a reminder for those re-enrolling in the program for the upcoming year. For those re-enrolling, there are fewer application questions and those questions are slightly different than for new applicants.

The purpose of this funding is to provide funds for TECHNICAL assistance to landowners for on-the-ground conservation practices through Farm Bill programs and standard NRCS conservation practices (CTA). The program also offers an opportunity for increased District capacity to provide technical support, leverage funds and raise your District profile in your community.

  • 80-100% technician time must be for Farm Bill practice implementation, NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) or the NRCS 9-step conservation planning process with individual landowners.
  • Any other time (max 20%) to be spent on other TECHNICAL work.
  • “Other technical work” includes activities such as providing technical assistance to District programs (not program management), preparing and delivering technical information/workshops to landowners (not event management for programs), writing technical parts of grants (not general grant writing), etc.
  • These positions are not for administrative duties.

Program Expectations:

  • Districts will have a DUNS number and that number registered with . This is a federal requirement to receive any kind of federal funding.
  • Technicians to perform technical duties – not administrative – with at least 80% of time on NRCS standard conservation planning and practice implementation.
  • All funds and match to be expended by December 31st 2018 (except in extraordinary circumstances)
  • Districts submit short quarterly reports to CSCB and workload recorded on NRCS database
  • Technicians to attend half of District Board meetings held and Districts are to make two publicity efforts about their technician
  • Award funds disbursed on reimbursement basis (maximum monthly frequency), except District may request a one-time advance at the program start of 25% of their award or $10,000 – whichever is the least. Once advance is expended, the reimbursement method applies.
  • Match to be ordinarily expended in tandem with grant expenditures, with match expended at least as 25% of expenditures.
  • All Districts receive orientation/support from the CSCB Grant Administrator and CSCB Field Specialists
  • Individuals who are District Managers cannot simultaneously be employed as DCTs

Please see our DCT web site for the forms and for more information about the program: DCT Webpage

Contact or 303-869-9045at the Main CSCB office or contact your CSCB Field Specialist.

New Application FormQuestions(Re-enrollment forms have slightly different questions)

Question 1: Field Office Workload

These funds are intended for technical assistance and the overarching goal of the program is to ensure districts with real need for such technical assistance receive funding. Please indicate by suitable measures (acres, contract numbers) what your field office workload is for planning and implementing NRCS standard conservation practices through Farm Bill programs and CTA to NRCS standards and specifications. Enter the hours per year for the field office staff positions in work e.g. District Conservationist (40hrs x52wks = 2080hours/year), District Manager (30hrs x52wks = 1560hours/year), DOW wildlife technician (16hrs x 52 wks =832hours/year). Adjust the hours per year appropriately, if a position is shared by a field office not a partner in this application. Add an explanatory note if you need to explain anything about an individuals workload in relation to providing technical assistance. Describe if workload or staffing for 2017 is expected to differ significantly from that of current year described.

Question 2: Reason for Applying

This question is tied to the same overarching goal to ensure real needs are being addressed – what has prompted you to apply for these funds – what need/problem has been identified and why will hiring a technician address the need/problem?

Question 3: Technician Duties

Describe how your technician would spend their time – it should relate to the purposes of this funding as described under “Program Expectations” at the top of these guidelines

Question 4: District Program Benefit

This program brings together federal, state and local (District) partners. Please tell us what you believe the benefits would be to your District by being in this program.

Question 5: Matching Dollars

The minimum hard-dollar match the district will need to provide in order to be enrolled in this program is 25% of the overall budget you need to employ the technician. If you need $30,000 then 75% of that would be your request from the program ($22,500) and 25% would be the hard cash match from your district ($7,500). These figures are based on the requirement that federal tax dollars leverage 50% match – 25%is the match provided through CDA-CSCB and forms part of your request to the program.The other part must be provided by the district: $30,000 budget consists of a request for $22,500 ($15,000 NRCS/$7,500 CSCB) and $7,500 District match. Since the CSCB contribution is part of your request, it is not accountable as district match. Please indicate who is providing the district match, funds source (must be non-federal) and the amount each provider will be contributing. Below is a list of valid hard cash match items for the purposes of this program:

Cash match is easily identifiable, traceable, and actual hard cash costs paid by the district or its non-federal partners that relate directly to the technician position. Some costs – administrative, technician vehicle insurance and district owned technician office space - may be used as cash match but not claimed from award funds. Indirect costs – those shared over other district operations – cannot be used as match.

Valid Cash Match Costs:

Technician salary

Technician salary taxes, Workers’Compensation and unemployment insurance deductions paid by employer

Technician health and retirement plan benefits paid by employer

Technician training costs - travel/per diem for NRCS training courses

Vehicle insurance for the technician position (non-owned/hired auto insurance)

Technician operational communication costsincurred only by technician (not shared costs) paid by District (monthly telephone/internet access fees; phone calls: depreciated information technology equipment purchases*)

Grant administration costs**

Office Space for the technician*** @ a maximum of $2,000 for a full-time position and $1000 for a part-time position – or 15% of your utilized award, whichever is lowest.

* note that equipmentis not purchasable from grant awards and computers must be less than a year old to qualify as match (in accordance with federal rules).

** note that administration costsmaybe used as cash match at a flat rate established by the CSCB and stated in the application. This rate is based on a cost-allocation calculated from a verifiable source for an Occupational Profile for bookkeeping and accounting in the State of Colorado, as required by federal rules. For this reason, districts applying the allowable administrative match will be required to submit a simple record of the time they spend on DCT administrative duties during the year (noted on the Reimbursement Request form).

*** note that office space for the technician space can only be applied IF THE DISTRICT OWNS THE BUILDING AND RECEIVES NO BUILDING RENTAL INCOME. Match may be applied at the rate of a maximum of $2,000 for a full-time position and $1000 for a part-time position – or 15% of your award, whichever is lowest. These costs include any fixed costs,e.g., phone/internet access, heating, cleaning, repairs, building insurance etc. Office space match must be declared at time of application to be eligible.

Examples of Costs Not Valid as Cash Match:

Communal/shared utility costs

Communal/shared equipment use costs

Board member technician supervisory time (not actual cash cost)

Communal/shared insurance costs such as general liability

Question 6: Employee Management Experience

In the interests of identifying skills the District may already have in managing staff, particularly technical positions, we would like to know of any experience the District has for permanent or temporary positions. For similar reasons, we are interested in how the District manages their staff in order to maximize and retain good human resources.

Question 7: Joint Applications

The CSCB values districts working together as a way to develop strong partnerships for mutual goals and development. Please indicate other districts who are collaborating with you in this application – as a provider of cash match or/and sharing the technician resource.

Question 8: Administration and Accounting

(1) It is important that the District has, or can obtain administrative support for managing the payroll and associated necessary paperwork for the conservation technical position. Please answer “yes” to confirm that the District is able to carry out these duties, or identify whoever will be doing them.

(2) State contracts require separate accounting of allocated funds to ensure accountability for tax dollars. Indicate the method the District uses to account for grant dollars received and expended and similarly for the match dollars.

Question 9: Unemployment Insurance

If the District is under reimbursement option for employee unemployment benefits, the liability for any claim pay-out will be through other District funds and not through any funds associated with this award (although award funds can be used to make quarterly payments under the contribution (taxing option)). If the District is under reimbursement option, it must agree to this condition of funding in order to be considered for enrollment in the program

Please call the Grant Administrator in the main CSCB office or your CSCB Field Specialist if you have any questions about unemployment coverage or liability.

Question 10: Liability Insurance

These questions are to ensure the Districts are prepared to meet state contract requirements.

If your technician will be using an NRCS vehicle, or the District owns the building the technician is housed in, you must state that here and confirm the District will have the required insurance in place. You must also state if the technician will not be using an NRCS vehicle or the District does not own the building.

With permission of the NRCS DC (and a signed agreement with NRCS provided by the DC), the technician may use NRCS vehicles for conservation business. The vehicle itself is insured by the NRCS but the district must carry third-party personal injury (person and property) liability insurance to cover the technician. The cost of this insurance may be used as match. Please note that the cost of this insurance will need to be reasonably apportioned if more than one employee drives vehicles, and can cover only the DCT third-party personal injury liability insurance for use of vehicles – not any additional/generalliabilities. This usually called “non-owned/hired” liability insurance.

When the technician is working on NRCS related activity, the NRCS Risk Management covers the liability. However, if the technician is doing other permitted technical work, then the District should ascertain if additional general liability insurance is necessary. The NRCS DC would be the first to question if a work duty is or is not covered by NRCS risk management. Alternatively, the district may decide it wishes to carry a general liability insurance policy for its employee’s actions. The award or match cannot be used to cover the cost of general district liability, since that is an indirect cost protecting all district operations.

Question 11: Budget

The amount you are requesting as an award from this program, plus your hard cash match, is the budget you will be expected to expend over the period of any award contract (Jan 1st– December 31st). Using the template provided, please account for all this expenditure over the 12-month calendar year. You may add categories if you need to (except “other” or “miscellaneous”) and please remember that training costs are expected to be those related to any per diem/lodging, etc. since training will be provided largely free-of-charge from NRCS. Fill in all categories that apply and be sure to enter all mandatory expenses (technician salary, employer social security etc., workers compensation, unemployment insurance (note if reimbursement), public injury insurance for use of NRCS vehicle). Note that although we expect the number of technician hours to be reasonable for the budget –this will vary according both to the level of expertise being purchased (e.g. new college graduate vs. certified engineer) and the job market (low or high average wages/pool of applicants). There is no optimum hourly rate – too high may indicate inefficient use of dollars, but too low may indicate poorer quality employee.

Question 12: Funding

If you require the one-time advance for your funding needs, you must indicate in this question. If you do not, the default will be no advance. All reimbursements are paid via EFT.

1. Indicate if your District has an EFT agreement with the CSCB.

2. A one-time up-front advance is available for this program if Districts have a cash-flow problem early in the year. An advance can postpone the time when you will need to carry expenses until later in the year, but you would still report expenditures against the advance to the CSCB. You will need to track the draw down on the advance fundsmonthly to anticipate cash flow when the District must carry expenses. If you have an advance, you will be required to submit a reimbursement form monthly to record the draw down on advance funds.

In accordance with state fiscal rules, the advance can only apply as your first initial payment and cannot be more than a quarter of your grant (25%) or $10,000, whichever is lowest. You must spend these funds first, before any further grant funds can be issued. Further grant funds will be distributed by reimbursement only – so once your advance is spent you will need to “carry’” expenses until you can make a reimbursement claim and receive the reimbursement payment. Since reimbursements can be guaranteed no more frequently than monthly (although you may submit them whenever you want) and payments take up to 3 weeks to process, you will need to be able to carry at least one month’s payroll and we recommend being able to carry two months if possible as a cash flow buffer. Note that if a vacancy occurs after an advance is spent, there is no further advance to “start” a new employee – you would need to carry expenses (District of “borrowed” partner match as described below) until your first reimbursement claim can be made and payment received.

If District cash flow is poor early in the year and partner match funds raised up-front, you might consider using match funds to carry payroll –claiming only 25% as match each month but using remaining match funds to pay salary before replenishing them once your reimbursement funds are received from the CSCB. Please contact the CSCB Grant Administrator or your CSCB Field Specialist if you have concerns or questions about how to manage the cash flow.

Examples of cash flow (simplified dates and numbers):

1.No Advance

  • District pays Jan expenses from own funds or “borrowed match”
  • Reimbursement claim made Jan 31st
  • Reimbursement funds received 3 weeks later
  • District pays Feb expenses from Jan reimbursement
  • Reimbursement claim made Feb 28th
  • Reimbursement funds received 3 weeks later
  • District pays Mar expenses from Feb reimbursement
  • Etc., through the year

2.Advance of $6,000

  • Advance received in January
  • Reimbursement claim made Jan 31st for $2,000 – advance covers
  • Reimbursement claim made Feb 28th for $2,000 – advance covers
  • Reimbursement claim made Mar 31st for $2,000 – advance covers
  • District pays April expenses from own funds or “borrowed” match
  • Reimbursement claim made April 30th
  • Reimbursement funds received 3 weeks later
  • District pays May expenses from April reimbursement
  • Reimbursement claim made May 31st
  • Reimbursement funds received 3 weeks later
  • District pays Jun expenses from May reimbursement
  • Etc., through the year

Question 13: Contact Person Information (Question 5 on the re-enrollment form)

Enter the person’s name, phone number, email address, physical address of the District applying, and the District DUNS number (needed to verify registration).

Question 14: District Board President Information (Question 6 on the re-enrollment form)

Enter the Board President’s name, phone number, and email address. Ensure the Board President has read and understood the two statements in this section regarding the District’s Good Standing and Board meeting minutes reflecting the Board’s decision to participate in the DCT program.

Helpful Guides for applying for a DUNS number and registering that number with are on the DCT Webpageor available by request from the CSCB.

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